"I Like It When You Scare Me"
Twinyl Trilogy Part 1
She still remembered the first time she'd heard the mare sing: one of the times she'd been walking around in the midst of the night, reminiscing about her old home by the beach, and dreaming of the day she'd finally provide Ponyville with its very own night club. It was a big dream, and it still felt so far away, but from the day she'd realized it was what she wanted to do, she knew she'd never leave Ponyville and go back to her old city, as she'd planned when she was younger.
Looking down at the crumpled sheet of paper she had with her, Vinyl Scratch felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. On this paper were the lyrics she'd written months ago, to a song she'd finally completed the music for, and a song she knew she'd never complete on her own. They were some of the best lyrics she'd ever done, in her opinion. She only needed a voice to complete them, to sing along with the lovely electro concoction she'd been working so hard on ever since she first wrote the song. She could do it herself, but only made a face at the thought. Scratch had never liked her own voice. It wasn't a terrible voice, but then again, neither was it a great one. But one thing was for sure, it wasn't anywhere near perfect enough for the beautiful melodies she constantly made to remind her of home, music that sometimes sounded as if it'd been directly plucked from Saturn's rings.
She was a master at what she did. She always had been. She even had the cutie mark to prove it. And years' worth of papers strewn all over the messy basement she used as a studio. Writing lyrics, creating sexy electronic beats, those were what she'd been dedicating her life to ever since she was a young filly. Often times she succeeded more at the music part than the lyrics, but both she was good at. The only thing she wasn't good at (at least not from her perspective) was the vocals. True, she didn't always need a voice for a nice club beat, but she still liked to have one for some of her songs. Some of her songs like this one.
Scratch honestly couldn't believe that she was finally ready for this, to complete the song she'd been working on for so long now. She was, though, and she knew exactly where she going to find the perfect voice. Ever since that night, she'd never forgotten her, nor had she ever changed her mind on the decision she'd made. This mare had been chosen even before the start of the music creation. And, call her creepy, but Vinyl Scratch had even made an effort to catch the mare in the act of singing again, just so she could again be reminded of how perfectly the voice would go with the music she concocted on a regular basis: while she had this specific song in mind, Scratch surely wouldn't mind using the vocals on other tracks as well.
So without further ado, the white unicorn left her studio as it was, and began her trip to find the mare she needed. Vinyl Scratch actually hadn't even asked her yet, if she would do the vocals; she probably should've, but she just never got around to it. She was fairly certain things would still go as planned, though, as this mare seemed to be quite nice. Not to mention she was a friend of Pinkie Pie's, who went way back with Scratch, in more ways than one. So in a sense, the two knew one another. Surely not as well as Scratch and Pinkie knew one another, but nevertheless, they were aware of one another's presence, which was good enough.
It took about twenty minutes for the unicorn to make it to the place where the other resided. She couldn't deny she was a little nervous at this point, simply because of how strange her visit might seem, but she was a strange pony as it were, so it wasn't like that made a difference. Hesitantly, she raised a hoof and knocked on the wooden door of the library; about a minute passed after the knock, and Scratch heard a few odd noises and voices of the mare and her little dragon friend, but finally, the door was opened and in the doorway stood the purple unicorn that Scratch had wanted to see. Twilight Sparkle blinked, quite surprised to see the visitor, but only paused a few seconds before speaking.
"Oh…Vinyl Scratch. Hello." She smiled a bit. "What brings you here?"
The white pony returned the smile with an awkward grin of her own. She had no idea how to ask Twilight this without it sounding completely weird, but she had no choice now but to go ahead and spit it out. Besides, she needed to finish her track.
She said, "I, um, I actually have a favor to ask you, if you're not doing anything else."
"A favor?" Twilight asked, both confused and curious. Scratch nodded her head once before the purple one continued. "…Well, alright. Let's hear it."
Taking a moment to get a breath, Scratch went over the words in her mind again. It wasn't really that hard a question to ask, was it? Why was she even worried about it at all? It wasn't as if Twilight Sparkle was a rude pony. She was quite the contrary. Still, the white one couldn't deny she'd be crushed if she couldn't get the perfect voice she wanted so badly. She finally gave a silent sigh, and got her request together.
"Well…I was wondering if you'd be so kind as to…sing for me? In one of my new songs?"
The purple pony's eyes widened almost instantly at the words, and she couldn't even help her mouth from hanging open. Vinyl Scratch wanted…her voice? This was certainly a huge surprise, and definitely not what she'd expected to hear. For a moment, there was silence between the two ponies, as Twilight was shocked to hear such a request, and Scratch was now worried beyond reason that she'd said the wrong thing.
Finally, Twilight nearly choked on her answer. "You want…me to sing? On your song?"
Scratch only nodded once more, very cautiously.
"…Why?" the purple one continued, her expression now painted with confusion. She was obviously already doubting her vocal abilities, which immediately returned Scratch's will to speak.
"Because you have a great voice, Twilight. I wanna use it. If you'll let me, anyway," she said.
Again, there was silence between them, as Twilight averted her confused, violet eyes. She'd always known she could sing, but she'd never considered her voice to be good enough for an actual song, a professionally made track like the ones Vinyl Scratch put all her effort into. Scratch only remained still, her hopeful, yet worried gaze hidden behind purple glasses. She wanted so badly to tell the purple unicorn how badly she needed this track to be perfected, and that it only could be perfected with her voice, but...she also didn't want the mare to feel forced into it.
Twilight lifted her dumbstruck face again. "Are you…sure? I mean, I'm flattered, but…I've never sang professionally. I've never even had lessons, or anything. I'm just an amateur. I can't promise you anything worthwhile."
Vinyl Scratch only released a silent sigh of relief at Twilight's words, the smile finally returning to her face again. The mare she needed was actually considering it. She just needed a little more of a push. Giving a few more nods, the musician allowed her smile to grow back into a grin. With or without promises, she had complete faith that Twilight would do perfectly.
"I'm definitely sure!" she told her. "Even if you are an amateur, I know you'll do fine, Twi. And you'd really be helping me out big time! So is that a yes?"
The purple one could only smile back with a small, nervous blush. "…Okay. Sure. I guess…one try wouldn't hurt. If it's really what you want."
Scratch responded to the affirmative answer with her complete, signature grin. She didn't have a single doubt that she'd made the perfect decision.
Though Scratch told Twilight they could go to her studio basement anytime she wanted to start the vocals, Twilight hadn't had anything else to do, so she went ahead and took the trip back to the studio along with the other. She informed Spike she'd be back later, and the two began the twenty-minute walk. The talked a little bit on the way, but Vinyl Scratch couldn't stop thinking about the lovely voice she'd soon have on her track. It may have seemed strange to other ponies, but as the musician she was, there was nothing Scratch loved more than the perfect blend of a sick beat, a haunting melody, and a soothing voice. The concoction was unlike anything else to her. And she wouldn't trade her ability to flawlessly mix the three parts of it for any other ability in Equestria.
Once they'd made it back to the studio, Scratch invited Twilight right inside. Twilight hesitantly entered, but was a little shocked at how messy the place was. She wasn't exactly a tidy pony either, but honestly, she wasn't sure she'd ever seen so many papers in her entire life. The whole basement was littered with them, some crumbled, some smooth, some scribbled all over, some completely bare. Did the pony just never throw any of her attempts away, failed or not? The studio was also pretty dark, other than a few small lamps Scratch had sitting around for writing, and for using her equipment.
"I hope you can excuse the mess this place is in," she said, knowing full well how completely in need of cleaning her studio was. "I know it's kinda crazy."
Twilight, though still surprised, only gave a smile. She surely didn't have the right to judge the other for messiness; even if she wasn't as cluttered as Scratch seemed to be, she still often had her own library in a wreck as well, especially after a study session.
She said, "It's fine. I know how it goes."
Vinyl Scratch smiled back, glad to hear the words. Quickly after, she began clearing out a spot for Twilight in the studio; she'd first allow her to listen to the song so far (even though she dreaded sharing the demo with her own vocals), and get used to the lyrics themselves. Once she was ready to sing, she'd get her in the vocal booth for recording. But for now, the listening part came first. Scratch shoved a bunch of her papers off a spinning stool she had nearby, and rolled it over to the purple unicorn. As Twilight was the guest in this situation, the other felt weird offering her a spot on the floor instead of an actual seat.
"Here ya go," she offered. "You take this one. I'm just gonna let ya hear the song first."
Twilight thanked her and rested her forelegs up on the seat of the stool rather than actually sitting on it; she didn't really feel like sitting down, as she was actually a good bit nervous still about singing for a professional musician. It was something she'd never done in the past, as well as something she'd never assumed she'd do at all. Scratch climbed up a second stool once Twilight was settled, actually sitting on it and pulling herself closer to her recording equipment. She got the song ready for play as Twilight walked her own stool a little closer as well. Once the demo started playing, the musician hurriedly grabbed the crumpled lyrics paper with her magic, and gave it to Twilight to read along.
The song lasted a little over three minutes. The purple one began her reading along quite calmly, but as the lyrics continued, she only looked more nervous and distraught. Scratch noticed it, but didn't say anything; she was unable to keep from blushing just a little, though, and rotating back and forth in her seat nervously. She really hoped Twilight wouldn't mind singing it, even if it wasn't something a pony like her would normally sing about. Sharing lyrics wasn't something she did often. In fact, the only pony she even shared her work with normally (outside of playing it at a party or something) was Pinkie Pie. This was a special case, though. She really wanted Twilight's voice on this track more than anything. Nopony else would do.
When the demo finished, Twilight hesitantly brought her gaze up to meet the musician's again, a bit confused, but mostly just surprised.
"…Wow," she finally spoke.
Scratch frowned nervously, cheeks still a little red. "You don't like it?"
"No! It's really good," she continued. "It's just…I dunno how well I can do it… Are you sure you've got the right pony for this?"
At the words, Scratch gave a grin of relief, glad to know Twilight didn't just outright hate the song or something. She sighed, manually removing her shades and setting them to the side to reveal her ruby eyes; she hadn't wanted the other to see her nervousness earlier, but now she was tired of being unable to see anything in the dark studio, and more relaxed at the response she'd gotten.
She replied, "I'm sure, Twilight. I know you can do it, even if it's not really your style. So…you wanna have a practice round before we start recording? It's fine if it takes you a few tries to get it."
Vinyl Scratch didn't mention that she'd listened to the other pony sing quite a few times in the past, and was actually very excited to hear her so closely for the first time. She didn't want to creep her out, after all. She was fairly certain that Twilight didn't have the first clue that she had heard her sing before, especially given that she'd never done so openly. As far as Scratch knew, she'd never been caught listening to her...she supposed there was always a chance, though. But unless the bookworm brought it up, she would remain silent as well.
Twilight gave a hesitant nod at the suggestion of a practice round, but also asked if they could listen to the song again first while she got the lyrics in her mind a little better. Luckily, the purple one was pretty good at memorization, so it didn't take too much more listening before she got the hang of it; though she still kept the lyrics handy, just to be sure she wouldn't miss anything. Finally, after a few more listens and a little more reading and softly half-singing along, Twilight Sparkle was ready to begin her first real practice try. Once she was ready, Scratch grinned again and started the track, though this time turned the volume down enough to where Twilight's own voice would overpower the other.
As Scratch started it, Twilight closed her eyes and took a breath to calm herself, trying to envision that she was alone on her balcony in the middle of the night, like she usually was when she sang to herself. Along with the music, she began the lyrics.
"Don't go in there…
Turn around, the trap is set.
Trying to prepare…
For what's about to happen next…"
Instantly as she began to sing, Scratch was already frozen, as she was everytime she heard the mare's voice. Oh how she wished she could sound like her, but at the same time, she also preferred nopony else sharing such a lovely ability. Sure, other ponies could sing, but none as beautifully as Twilight Sparkle. Not to her. It was enough to nearly hypnotize her, even with only a few lines.
"Entertain my dark side
Terrorize me just enough
Suffer while I stand by
You're going in but you're never coming out alive.
Dancing in the pale moonlight
There's nothing like the sound of your scream
Scare me, yeah it's what I like
I like to make believe, I like it when you scare me."
Twilight continued the song, and Vinyl Scratch only became more lost in the melody her acquaintance was providing her with. Despite the lyrics being something Twilight wouldn't normally sing, she was providing them almost perfectly, just as Scratch knew she would. It was so much better than her own voice. She could tell Twilight's attempt at pretending she was alone in the dark studio was working fine, as well as her attempt to put herself in the mindset that was needed for the foreign words. She knew the purple unicorn would be perfect. At this rate, it'd only take a few more tries to completely ready her for the recording, and finally, her track would be the masterpiece she needed.
"Can you hear me?
Doesn't matter anyways
Hooves around my eyes
It's sick, but I can't look away."
Scratch swallowed down her awe as she only sat still, watching the fellow unicorn continue on. She found herself looking over the mare as well as listening, focusing on her facial expressions as she sang, eyes still closed in pretending she was alone. She certainly had the appearance to match the voice, which only intensified the moment the musician was now lost in. There was nothing else she loved more than the perfection of a perfect musical blend, but nevertheless, she felt a small flutter of excitement within her, and did nothing to stop it. Twilight's singing was not only beautiful in this situation, but…sexy.
"Entertain my dark side
Terrorize me just enough
It's hard to watch when you cry
But it's so fun when I know that you're about to die!
Dancing in the pale moonlight
There's nothing like the sound of your scream
Scare me, yeah it's what I like
I like to make believe, I like it when you scare me."
Finally, as the last chorus came to an end, and the music faded, there was silence between the two unicorns again. Twilight very slowly opened her eyes again, though still kept her gaze lowered. She almost couldn't believe she'd done it without any real errors, or without choking up at how seductively dark the words seemed to her. As she'd been lost too, though, in her own singing, she wasn't entirely sure how she'd done. She breathed out slowly, a little shakily, before turning to the musician next to her with a questioning look.
Vinyl Scratch, still in a moment of utmost amazement, only looked back. It was over. But the flutter of excitement remained within her, and she suddenly felt she'd never be able to look away from the locked gaze with her Twilight. She couldn't even speak. She finally swallowed again, though, and tried.
"Twilight, that was…" she whispered, but stopped unfinished. She had no idea what had come over her, what new force now held her captive. Maybe it was the beauty she'd never witnessed so close. Maybe it was the spark of loneliness she'd been trying to hide ever since Pinkie had stopped coming to her for more than the friendship they had. But suddenly, after the words, she inhaled sharply, almost silently, and leaned forward into the purple one's space, stopping only when their faces were a mere inch apart, muzzles brushing against one another's. One more tiny movement, and their lips would meet. But Scratch, for whatever reason, had stopped just before committing the act, despite how badly she wanted to commit it right now, to Twilight Sparkle, her lovely vocalist.
Both ponies stayed frozen for a few seconds, and Twilight's eyes were now wide with a fear she'd obviously never experienced before. With a quiet hitch of breath, she quickly flinched away from the gesture, before anything else happened. Violet hues still wide with a mixture of fear and shock, and jaw dropped open, her face was now flushed, far worse than it'd been earlier from having to sing. It was then that Vinyl Scratch knew she'd done something she shouldn't have done, and she looked back with a similar expression.
She choked, "Oh god…Twilight…"
The purple one shook her head quickly, not even giving Scratch time to say anything else. She could barely even believe what had almost just happened. She had to get out of there.
"…I-I need to go. U-Um…now." Twilight hurriedly climbed down from the stool she'd been propped up on, face still flushed. She released a quick breath before looking back to the other for a quick second, and rushed out of the studio without even saying goodbye.
Vinyl Scratch could only helplessly watch as the mare left her, wanting to run after her and tell her she hadn't meant to do it, to try and kiss her like that. It was just an accident! She still wasn't even sure what had come over and made her even think such a thing was a good idea! But she was completely frozen as well, even moreso than Twilight, who'd just run off. How could she have done something so stupid! She wasn't actually into Twilight that way, as far as she knew…was she? She'd never been before. She'd just wanted her voice! Like the mare would ever believe her now… What the hell was wrong with her?
"Shit!" she whispered sharply to herself, and angrily let her head drop down on her mixing console, growling in annoyance when her horn prevented the act from going as perfectly as she would've liked. She needed a good smack to the head right now!
With a whimper, the unicorn lifted her head again to look at her console, hoping she hadn't damaged it, even if she felt kind of like it should be damaged about now. God, she was an idiot. Scratch finally released a sigh, wondering what she was going to do now. With that little inconvenience just happening, she'd never get the vocals she needed. But more than anything, she didn't want Twilight thinking of her as some freak with a creepy crush.
Vinyl Scratch didn't want to confront Twilight, but as a couple more hours passed, she only continued to feel worse about what had happened, not to mention even more confused. Why had she tried to kiss her? Was it really because she didn't have Pinkie anymore, and wanted a relationship like that again? Had she really just gotten that wrapped up in the breathtaking vocals the lovely mare was providing, to the point where it had affected her mentality into wanting more than she already had? Or did she really…like Twilight that way?
She didn't know. But the thoughts had plagued her so much that she couldn't stand another minute of them! She had to do something! She couldn't let this remain as it was! The white unicorn suddenly tore herself away from the studio she was still sitting in, and dashed outside just as Twilight had earlier. She didn't stop, or slow down. She ran as fast as her hooves could carry her, making the trip a bit shorter than the one she'd taken hours earlier. She had no idea if Twilight would be home still, but she didn't care. She had to fix this!
Unluckily for her, as she got about halfway there, the cloudy sky gave way to the raindrops they were filled up with, and soon enough, it was pouring down on her like cats and dogs. Under her breath, Scratch cursed again. Just what she needed. She still didn't stop, though, not even to wait for the storm to pass: the rain was already slowing her down! She tried to up her speed a bit as she ran on across Ponyville to the library the mare lived in. A few ponies gave her weird looks as they watched from the dry safety of their own homes, and it was only then that Scratch realized she'd left her shades at home. Great.
After between ten and fifteen minutes of running across town, the unicorn finally reached the house of the pony she'd needed to see again. She was panting sporadically now, and she knew her mane looked horrible from being soaked by the downpour. But finally, finally she was here! And after taking a short moment to catch her breath, she lifted a hoof to knock on the door of the library, hitting it a good bit harder than she'd intended on.
A few seconds passed before the door was open, and Twilight Sparkle was once again completely in shock, but this time, due to seeing Vinyl Scratch completely soaked, standing in the summer storm outside her house with the most helpless look she'd ever seen. The purple one didn't speak. That was perfect for Scratch, though, as she already had her words planned.
"I'm sorry, Twilight!" she breathed loudly. "I'm really sorry…"
The words only brought more stunned silence, which only reflected more of a distraught expression in the soaked unicorn's ruby gaze. She'd apologized! Wasn't it enough? When she didn't get a reply, Vinyl Scratch only hung her head in exhaustion, hating her mistake even more than she already had, even though she still didn't completely know how it'd happened to begin with. She shut her eyes tight. She knew she didn't want Twilight to hate her, though, no matter what kind of weird relationship they'd have now thanks to her stupid move.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the purple one's sweet voice came through the pouring rain.
"It's okay."
Scratch's eyes opened again in surprise, and she immediately lifted her head back up to meet Twilight's violet gaze. The mare almost looked worried, but Scratch couldn't really tell. The two stared at one another in silence for another moment, until finally, Twilight spoke again.
She said, "Scratch, you shouldn't be out in this rain… Come on inside, you can stay here until it passes."
For a moment, the musician could scarcely believe what she'd just heard. She blinked, taking in the kind words, the proof that she'd been forgiven, if there was anything to forgive. Scratch still hadn't the first idea how Twilight felt about what had happened, or how she felt about it now, hours after it. Hell, she didn't even know how she felt about it herself, beyond stupid. She wanted to know what the purple one was feeling, if she'd truly forgiven her. But she supposed for now, the welcoming offer would be enough as it was, as she currently felt that even that was a miracle. Especially given that she'd succeeded in completing her own mission.
Vinyl Scratch very hesitantly took a step forward, and came inside the large tree-house to dry off and stay until the rain stopped. She had no idea where they stood now, if they would remain friends, or even if she'd one day finish the track she'd almost perfected. But she supposed, if she was going to be staying for a while, she'd find out soon enough.
YEP. That's the end. What happens next? You can decide, I guess. Unless you want to read the sequel! I've decided to turn this into a one-shot trilogy, so there will be two more one-shots following this one. The second one is already posted - it's called "That Sweet Emotion." Check it out if you liked this one!
LYRICS: "SCARE ME" by PYRO FIGHTER. Look it up on YouTube, it's a fantastic song! Of course, the real one says "HANDS" not "hooves"; for pony purposes only, I changed it, heh. And now I can't listen to Pyro Fighter anymore without picturing Scratch and Twilight. Wooo.
As for the bit of Vinyl Scratch background I provided, that's all me. I plan on writing another story about her someday, in which I'll go into more detail about her background, and old home, and her relationship with Pinkie, but until then, this is all I got. Hope you liked it!
Reviews & favs are very appreciated! Thanks for reading. (: